GUARDIANS STUNNED BY RARE BALK RULE THAT FORCES IN A RUN IN LOSS TO RED SOX

A bizarre balk rule had the Guardians completely exasperated Wednesday night.

Cleveland starter Ben Lively and manager Stephen Vogt could not believe the balk call against Lively that forced in a run in the Guardians’ 2-0 loss to the Red Sox at Fenway Park.

Both the starter and manager asked for an explanation and seemed genuinely stumped by the ruling that scored the game’s first run.

Ben Lively is penalized for a balk and the Red Sox take a one-run lead on the @CleGuardians. Right or wrong call? pic.twitter.com/Dew4GPvc14

— Bally Sports Cleveland (@BallySportsCLE) April 18, 2024

Balks are challenging enough to understand, and they are even more difficult to understand in situations like this when they are called on little-known rules.

Lively violated what is known as the “David Price” rule, in which pitchers are required to tell the umpires if they are pitching from the windup or stretch with men on base.

The Red Sox had a man at third with two outs in a scoreless game Wednesday when home plate umpire Roberto Ortiz called the balk.

Lively did not appear to move after coming set, the usual cause for a balk, and then threw the first pitch of the presumed at-bat, but Ortiz immediately popped up and issued the infraction.

The umpires ruled he had not made his declaration.

“They changed the rule this year that you have to declare if you’re going from the windup or stretch,” Vogt said. “He did not declare with the new hitter, and evidently that’s the new rule. I didn’t like it. I understand that’s the rule, but we didn’t get that explanation. No excuse, but we just need to declare every hitter.

“They assume you’re going from the stretch unless you otherwise declare, although it looked the exact same as the hitter before. But that’s the rule. We learned.”

Lively immediately looked toward an umpire after the ruling and questioned the call, seeming to mouth “What?” toward first base umpire Alfonso Marquez.

Vogt then immediately came out to discuss the ruling, first talking to Ortiz and then chatting with Marquez.

Lively later slammed the ball into his glove, seemingly to indicate that he felt he did not break a rule.

He later said he felt he had taken the necessary steps.

“I felt like I said something,” Lively said after the game. “It happens, it’s OK.”

Lively seemingly violated rule MLB rule 5.07(a)(2).

“With a runner or runners on base, a pitcher will be presumed to be pitching from the Set Position if he stands with his pivot foot in contact with and parallel to the pitcher’s plate, and his other foot in front of the pitcher’s plate, unless he notifies the umpire that he will be pitching from the Windup Position under such circumstances prior to the beginning of an at-bat,” the rule states. “A pitcher will be permitted to notify the umpire that he is pitching from the Windup Position within an at-bat only in the event of (i) a substitution by the offensive team; or (ii) immediately upon the advancement of one or more runners (i.e., after one or more base runners advance but before the delivery of the next pitch).”

That run loomed large since Cleveland had just three hits against Tanner Houck, who tossed a shutout. Lively yielded two runs on three hits in five innings.

2024-04-18T15:26:51Z dg43tfdfdgfd